Applicator for seed treatment products

ABSTRACT

An applicator for seed treatment products includes an elongated, cylindrical tube having an enlarged flange at a top end for receiving a canister of treatment products. The bottom end of the tube is inserted into a seed hopper filled with seeds, the tube penetrating beneath the surface of the seeds. A canister of treatment products is opened at one end and inserted into the flange with the open side down. The canister fits snugly in the flange so the treatment products can escape only from the bottom of the tube which is within the seed pile. The user stirs the pile with the tube to distribute the treatment products evenly throughout the pile.

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/220,239 filed on Mar.30, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,099.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to devices for applying seed protection productsto agricultural seeds. It is particularly concerned with an applicatorfor seed treatment chemicals which minimizes user exposure to thetreatment chemicals.

The value of seed treatment chemicals in protecting against seed-feedinginsects and seedling disease is well known. Seed protection products ofthis type are available from Trace Chemicals, Inc. of Pekin, Ill. undertheir trademark Kernel Guard®. In the past these products have beensupplied in premeasured foil packets which treat a given amount of seed.For example, 1.8 ounces of treatment product treats one bag (50 pounds)of seed corn. Seed treatment chemicals are conventionally applied toseeds in the seed box or hopper of a planting machine. The foil packetsare torn open and the treatment chemicals are poured on top of the seedpile in the hopper. Any available paddle or stick is used to mix theproducts into the seeds. This process is repeated for the remaininghoppers of the planting machine.

The seed treatment product typically is a dry, fluent material. When theuser opens the foil packet and pours the product onto the seed he issometimes exposed to the product. This exposure is due to opening thebag and to wind blowing the product around before it can be stirred intothe seed pile. The present invention eliminates this exposure asdescribed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is an applicator for seed treatment products. Theapplicator comprises an elongated, cylindrical tube having a flaredportion of enlarged diameter at one end. This flared portion is referredto herein as a flange or transfer chamber. A canister initiallycontaining the treatment chemicals has an outside diameter just slightlyless than the inside diameter of the flange so the canister fits snuglyinto the flange. The canister has an open end normally closed by a capor cover of some sort. The canister is longer than necessary to containthe treatment products. Accordingly, there is some empty space in thefilled canister. This space allows the canister to be tipped withoutspilling the product.

The applicator is used by putting its smaller end into a pile of seeds,about an inch or so below the surface of the seed pile. A one-inch depthis preferred because the material will release from the tube and be atleast partially visible to the user. The user then removes the cap fromthe canister and inverts the canister into the flange of the tube. Theproduct will fall through the tube and be deposited below the surface ofthe seed. Leaving the canister in the flange, the user stirs the tubearound in the pile to distribute the product. The applicator tube can bereused numerous times with new product canisters. Thus, the inventionprovides, in a single device, an applicator and stirring appliance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the applicator tube.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the product canister.

FIG. 3 is a section showing the applicator inserted into a seed box orhopper.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are illustrative views showing the steps forusing the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the tube 10 of the applicator. The tube is anelongated cylinder made of 16-gauge aluminized or stainless steel orsimilar material. The tube has a hollow main body portion 12 having alower end 14 and a flared upper end, referred to herein as a flange ortransfer chamber 16. The flange has enlarged inside and outsidediameters compared to the body portion 12 and is open at the top.

The intersection of the body and flange defines a transition zonecomprising a tapered shoulder 18. It is preferred that the shouldertapers gradually over a length of about 0.75" or so. Moreover, theshoulder is curved or arcuate rather than strictly frusto-conical. Thesurface of the shoulder accommodates variations in the canisterdiameter. Since the canisters will be produced on a mass productionbasis, manufacturing tolerances will inevitably cause variations in thediameters of the canisters. The shoulder's tapered surface will permit atight fit of the canister against the tube regardless of the tolerancevariation in the canister's diameter.

For reference purposes only, the tube 10 has an overall length of 36inches and an outside diameter of 2 inches at the body portion 12. Theflange has a length of about 4 inches, an inside diameter of 2.25 inchesand an outside diameter of 2.375 inches.

A depth reference line 20 is painted or otherwise inscribed on the bodyportion, preferably about one inch from the lower end 14. This can beaccompanied by printed instructions (not shown) telling the user toinsert the tube into the seed pile up to the reference line. Theone-inch depth is preferred because it allows the product to releasefrom the tube and a portion of the product will be visible to the user.It has been found that a two-inch depth permits the product to emergefrom the tube but the user cannot visually confirm that fact. Tubeimmersion depths of three inches or more prevent the product fromreleasing from the tube. That is, at tube immersion depths of threeinches or more, the seeds will fill enough of the main body to preventthe treatment product from flowing out of the tube while the tube isimmersed in the seed pile. The treatment product releases only when thetube is withdrawn, at which point all of the product falls on top of thepile, defeating the purpose of the invention. Accordingly, a one-inchimmersion depth has been found best and the depth reference line 20assists in assuring optimum use of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a seed treatment product canister 22. The canister is acylindrical container having walls 24, a closed end 26 and an open end28. The open end of a filled canister is tightly closed by a cap 30 orother suitable cover such as a foil or shrink-wrapped membrane. Thecanister can be made from foil-lined fiberboard, for example. Forpurposes of illustration, the canister is about 7 inches long and has anoutside diameter of 2.125 inches. As mentioned above, a commonapplication rate of treatment product is 1.8 ounces of product for of 50pounds of seed (the size of a bag normally placed in the plantingmachine's seed box or hopper). In the 2.125 inch diameter canister 1.8ounces of treatment product will occupy about four or five inches of thespace. Given the seven inch length of the canister, it can be seen thatthere will be some empty space in the filled canister. This extra spacepermits the opened canister to be tipped or tilted without spilling theproduct. Thus, treatment products will flow from the canister only whenthe canister is contained in the flange and the body portion is insertedin the seed pile. This aids in preventing exposure to the product.

The use, operation and function of the invention are illustrated inFIGS. 3-9. The user first empties a 50-pound bag of seed into the seedbox or hopper 32 of a planting machine. The seeds form a pile 34 havinga surface 36. Then the lower end 14 of the tube body is inserted intothe seed pile, FIG. 3, to the one-inch depth indicated by the depthreference line 20. The tube may be tilted or angled somewhat withrespect to vertical so as to reduce the angle that the canister must beturned to get it into the flange. Next the cap or cover 30 is removedfrom the seed treatment product canister 22, FIG. 4. The canister iscarefully tipped or inverted so that its open end 28 is inserted intothe flange 16 of the tube 10, FIG. 6. The canister should be inserteduntil it bottoms on the shoulder 18. This will make a tight seal betweenthe canister and the tube. It may be useful to tap the closed end of thecanister after it is fully inserted into the flange. The fluent seedtreatment product 38 flows out of the canister, through the tube 10 andis deposited below the surface of the seed in the hopper.

Leaving the canister in the flange to maintain a closed end, the userwill then stir the seed pile at the one-inch application depth to ensurethe release of the treatment product. This can be done by tilting thetube back and forth a few times at the one-inch depth, as indicated inFIG. 7. The product is typically colored to aid in visual confirmationof release from the tube. Once release is verified, the user mixes theproduct with deep and wide strokes of the tube to distribute the productonto all the seeds in the hopper, FIG. 8. The empty canister is removed,FIG. 9, and the tube can then be transferred to the next hopper wherethe process is repeated.

The applicator eliminates exposure in several ways. By dispensing theproduct beneath the surface of the seed pile, the product is neverexposed to wind. Also, by using a rigid canister which empties throughthe tube, product exposure from the opening and pouring process isreduced. That is, since the product is never poured into open air, thechances of it blowing around are reduced. The oversized canister furtherminimizes exposure during insertion into the flange. The tube alsoprovides a custom mixing tool for distributing the product onto all theseeds in the hopper.

While a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, itwill be realized that alterations and modifications may be made theretowithout departing from the scope of the following claims. For example,while it is preferred that the tube is round (i.e., it has a circularcross-section) to minimize the chances of product becoming stuck to thetube, it could be square or of other cross-sectional shape.

We claim:
 1. A method of applying seed treatment products to seeds in apile while minimizing user exposure to the products, comprising thesteps of:inserting one end of an elongated tube beneath the surface ofthe pile with the other end of the tube extending above the pile;opening a seed treatment product canister to expose an open end of thecanister; inserting said opened canister into said other end of the tubesuch that the seed treatment products flow from the open end of thecanister into and through the tube; and stirring the seed pile with thetube to distribute the seed treatment product throughout the pile. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the inserting step is characterized byinserting the tube to a depth of about one-inch.
 3. The method of claim1 wherein the stirring step is characterized by first tilting the tubeback and forth at a depth of about one inch to release the products fromthe tube and then by mixing the seed pile throughout the depth of thepile.